The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC), a coalition of credit cards and banks fighting against interchange reform, accused c-stores of overcharging customers for products in an advertisement, NACS reported.
EPC took out a full page ad in the Sept. 8 issue of Politico, a Capital Hill publication. The ad begins, “The only thing ‘convenient’ about convenience stores…they’ll lighten your wallet for you.” It continues, “It’s not enough that convenience stores overcharge for WHAT you buy. Now, they want to overcharge you for HOW you pay.”
The ad appears to be in response to efforts by NACS to bring transparency and competition to interchange “swipe fees.”
“What other industry would attack their customers like this for wanting to negotiate?” said Lyle Beckwith, NACS senior vice president of government relations. “Only because they have no competition do they have the audacity.”
NACS said that despite the factually incorrect allegations, it will continue to push for reform of interchange fees in Congress, and is heartened by the desperation these attack ads seem to indicate.
